Author Topic: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain  (Read 76830 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Svetabel

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 4883
    • View Profile
    • http://svetabella.livejournal.com/
Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« on: March 18, 2005, 08:25:44 AM »
I saw many pictures of her and know that she  wrote a book of memoirs. Had anyone ever read it? Is it interesting?

And some additional info on Eulalia? Some anecdotes? I guess she was a highly independent woman.



Offline grandduchessella

  • Global Moderator
  • Velikye Knyaz
  • *****
  • Posts: 13039
  • Getting Ready to Move to Europe :D
    • View Profile
    • Facebook page
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2005, 09:04:39 AM »
She actually wrote 3 volumes of memoirs. I read one awhile ago but hope to buy it and all 3. You know that as with many memoirs there's some serious spin & gossip but the one I read was fun & entertaining. She was a colorful character (as befitting a daughter of Isabelle II)

She was the Duchess of Galleira (we've discussed her predecessor in the Empress Frederick thread) and her son married Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh (and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) daughter of Prince Alfred & GDss Marie Alexandrovna.

She was legendary around Europe for her flirtations and affairs (some even called her a nympho). She had a relationship with Count Jametel the horrible husband of Duchess Marie of Mecklenberg-Strelitz (she of the illegitimate child) that caused Marie even more grief.

b.1864 d.1958

The memoirs:
Court Life from Within  
Courts And Countries After Ther War  
The Thread of Life
They also serve who only stand and wait--John Milton
Come visit on Pinterest--http://pinterest.com/lawrbk/

Offline Svetabel

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 4883
    • View Profile
    • http://svetabella.livejournal.com/
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2005, 09:37:50 AM »
Many thanks,Courtney! I can always count on you! :) :) :)

Really I did not know that she wrote 3 books! Great! :o

Offline Eurohistory

  • Moderator
  • Velikye Knyaz
  • *****
  • Posts: 1916
    • View Profile
    • Eurohistory.com
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2005, 08:27:58 PM »
I believe the last of Eulalia's books was ghost written by someone else and she allowed them to list her as autor.

Arturo Beéche

PS: Not very reliable memoires...caution!
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Eurohistory »
--
Arturo Beéche, Publisher
http://erhj.blogspot.com
European Royal History Journal
Kensington House Books
6300 Kensington Ave.
East Richmond Heights, CA 94805 USA
510/236-1730
books@eurohistory.com
http://www.eurohistory.com

Offline grandduchessella

  • Global Moderator
  • Velikye Knyaz
  • *****
  • Posts: 13039
  • Getting Ready to Move to Europe :D
    • View Profile
    • Facebook page
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2005, 12:24:20 AM »
I intimated as much in my prior post. The one I read sure was fun though!  ;) Considering a good number of royal memoirs should be read with caution because they spin things or leave large parts out, at least this was a good read.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by grandduchessella »
They also serve who only stand and wait--John Milton
Come visit on Pinterest--http://pinterest.com/lawrbk/

bluetoria

  • Guest
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2005, 11:09:15 AM »
What sort of man was Antoine of Orleans? I am thinking of his wife openly flaunting her affair with the 'wicked' Count who married Marie of M-S. Do you know anything about the Duke's reaction to this?
« Last Edit: August 30, 2017, 01:29:53 AM by trentk80 »

umigon

  • Guest
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2005, 06:15:34 AM »


Well, Antonio de Orleans was born in Seville in 1866 to duke Antonio of Montpensier and infanta Luisa Fernanda. His parents had ten children:

1. Isabel (1848-1919).

2. Amelia (1851-1870).

3. María Cristina (1852-1879).

4. María de la Regla (1856-1861).

5. A stillborn son (1857).

6. Fernando (1859-1873).

7. Mercedes (1860-1878), Alfonso XII's first wife.

8. Felipe (1862-1864).

9. Antonio (1866-1930).

10. Luis María (1867-1874).

Sadly, as you can see, only Isabel, María Cristina and Antonio survived into adulthood and only Isabel and Antonio, from 10 children!, managed to have children.

In 1868, when he was only two years old, his aunt Queen Isabella forced his parents to flee from Spain, and so they moved in to France. Soon after, the Queen was deposed and she and her family also had to go on exile.

He was very close to his mother and it is known that the deaths of his brothers and sisters affected him deeply. In 1885, when he was 19, his cousin Alfonso XII died leaving a pregnant widow and two daughters. All of Alfonso's siblings were women and Antonio and his father were the only male figures in the Spanish Royal Family.

Having the Carlist conflict, masculine presence was needed in the Royal Palace, in order to secure the Crown to the baby that grew in María Cristina of Austria if it was a male or to María de las Mercedes, Princess of the Asturias. On 6th March 1886 Antonio married his cousin, Infanta Eulalia, who was 22 at the time, being two years older than her cousin-husband.

Although Eulalia in her memories would try to confirm that Antonio and her never really knew each other, it has been demonstrated that Eulalia lied when writing that. They had been dating before Alfonso's death, so they knew each other much more than what Eulalia then tried to tell us.

The marriage, however, was a disaster. Three children were born from it:

1. Alfonso María (1886-1975), who was created Infante of Spain by María Cristina. He would marry Princess Beatrice of Great Britain in 1909 and he would be one of Spain's first aviators. During Franco's years, Alfonso was a great defendant of the monarchy.

2. Luis Fernando (1888-1945), who was also created Infante of Spain. Openly gay, he loved to be called ''The King of Queers''. After a scandal which involved the obscure death of one of his lovers, Alfonso XIII, who hated him, retired from Luis his title of Infante. In 1930 Luis married Marie Say, the rich widow of the Prince of Broglie, who was 31 years his senior!!! After spending all her money Luis abandoned her. He died alone and childless.

3. Roberta (1890-1890), who died a few minutes after her birth.


After Roberta's birth, the couple started to separate from each other, until Eulalia became Count Jametel's lover. Antonio, on the other hand, started a relationship with Carmen Jiménez Flores ''Carmela''. Antonio and Eulalia would officially separate from each other on the 31st May 1900, although they would never divorce.

During the 1890's, Eulalia had gone to Paris with Jametel, where she supposedly had a secret miscarriage in 1896. In the meanwhile Antonio lived also in Paris with Carmela and his two sons. The rest of Antonio's life was quite turbulent. After breaking with Carmela, he started a new relationship with a French woman, Madmoiselle de Chardonnet. Both of them were of expensive taste and they both took advantage on Antonio's wasteful character, leaving him without money and with numerous debts. In 1919 his son Alfonso took him to Court in order to prevent his father's wasteful manners. The possessions that were left were then under Alfonso's hands.

Antonio died in Paris in 1930.

umigon

  • Guest
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2005, 06:22:22 AM »
Sorry, forgot to tell something about his reaction!!

Well, Antonio would write many letters to his mother-in-law, ex-Queen Isabella and to his sister-in-law, María Cristina of Austria, in which he complained about Eulalia's behaviour. His complaints were not much because of Eulalia's affair with Jametel, but because of her lack of discretion, her lack of interest in their sons and the fact that she complained about Carmela living with him and that she asked from him ''to mantain a sense of decorum'' when she was openly having relations with Jametel.


I hope to have helped you!

Offline grandduchessella

  • Global Moderator
  • Velikye Knyaz
  • *****
  • Posts: 13039
  • Getting Ready to Move to Europe :D
    • View Profile
    • Facebook page
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2005, 07:54:19 AM »
Quote

He was very close to his mother and it is known that the deaths of his brothers and sisters affected him deeply. In 1885, when he was 19, his cousin Alfonso XII died leaving a pregnant widow and two daughters. All of Alfonso's siblings were women and Antonio and his father were the only male figures in the Spanish Royal Family.


wow thanks for all that information.  :)  It's interesting to note that his cousin Alfonso XII would've also been his brother-in-law since AXII married his sister Mercedes. How sad that she died so young--where the 3 of them close? If so, I hope that AXII was able to receive some comfort from his cousin/BIL. Mercedes was certainly well-loved.

Also interesting that Queen Isabella didn't like his family yet he wound up marrying her daughter Eulalia. I wonder what her reaction was to that? Perhaps the dislike between the familes should've been an omen.

As for Eulalia--she is certainly a colorful character. But boy is that the pot calling the kettle black to complain about his indiscretions. Hers are still widely known even today whereas many people might not even recognize her husband's name!
They also serve who only stand and wait--John Milton
Come visit on Pinterest--http://pinterest.com/lawrbk/

Offline cimbrio

  • Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 613
  • Für Ludwig II
    • View Profile
    • GonDan's Royalty Family Trees
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2005, 08:42:36 AM »
I don't hink ehr memoirs were written by someone else, because there are many "errors" derived from her great knowledge of French (she sais, for example, something is "bizarro"-when she means "extrano"; the French word "bizarre" or the Spanish "version" she created do NOT exist in Spanish. Stuff like that). There are many errors of fact, such as talking about her sister Pilar's actions at a ball, when he'd been dead for a few years already. On the whole, however, I think the book's great because she talks about her meetings with the Kaiser (whom she liked very much), with the Czech Prime Minister, Nicholas and Alexandra, etc. I reccomend it even if it's just to read some passages, I have the book and find it one of the best I posess :)
PS-She was nicknamed at Court "the Republican" for her moden, liberala nd pro-feminist ideals, though she got on OK with most of ehr family. Perhaps there was qute a bit of friction with ehr eldest sister Isabel.

Richard23Creuse

  • Guest
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #10 on: September 28, 2005, 06:51:03 AM »
Does anyone have any information as to how Antonio husband of Infanta Eulalia lost his fortune as I understand his inheritence from the Duke of Montpensier made him one of the richest men in Spain.

Offline TampaBay

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 4213
  • Being TampaBay is a Full Time Job.
    • View Profile
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #11 on: October 02, 2005, 08:26:24 AM »
Does the current King of Spain have private funds?  

I have read many places the the "Spanish House" is not wealthy for a royal house yet they seem to live in a royal granduer akin to and on par with that of QEII.

TampaBay
"Fashion is so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash, we should stop going to the mall.

Offline isabel

  • Boyar
  • **
  • Posts: 197
    • View Profile
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #12 on: October 04, 2005, 12:24:23 PM »
Quote
Does anyone have any information as to how Antonio husband of Infanta Eulalia lost his fortune as I understand his inheritence from the Duke of Montpensier made him one of the richest men in Spain.



You are right, after the death of his father, Antonio de Orleas became a very rich man.

He recived a substantial amount of money deposited in english banks, also, the Palace of Sanlúcar de Barrameda and the majority of the andalous country estates (excepted the Palace of Villamanrique and the Palace of San Telmo), he inherited also all the italian estates anexed to the Ducad of Galliera with all his palaces, castles and their importants rents.

His marriage with the Infanta Eulalia, was a true disaster, and after their separation he had a crazy life and became to squander his fortune.

When his two sons becamed adults, and suspected the destiny of the money, intented to know the true, but they hadn´t an answer, finally thy had to put the fact on Justice´s hands . Don Antonio had to draft a document indicating the stopping-place, and the  value of all the lost goods.

The list was:(chifres in 1919)

Given to Carmela (one of his lovers)

*3.750.000 Pesetas deposited in the Coutts Bank of London.
*800.000 Ptas. of the sale of a Goya´s painting "Las majas del balcón".
*125.000 Ptas. of the sale of El Greco´s painting
*500.000 Ptas. of the sale of others paintings.
*150.000 Ptas. of a country estate in Sanlúcar
*225.000 Ptas. to built a house in Sanlúcar.
*800.000 Ptas. for a pearl collier
*60.000 Ptas. for a broch with brilliants.
*30.000 Ptas. for a broch with pearls
*600.000 Ptas. for a house in Paris
*150.000 Ptas for the furnitures of this house.
*200.000 Ptas.of the sale of several trapestrys
*125.000 Ptas. to buy the house of El Maestre
*125.000 Ptas. to built a basement
*9.995.600 Ptas. in other things he didn´t remember.

Given to Mlle de Chardonnet (an other lover)

*2.000 Francs every month when he knowed her in 1915

*3.000 Fr. every month between 1916 and 1917
*4.000 Fr. every month in 1918

Others

*144.000 francs and 4.000.000 Ptas in the value of houses and objects.

Since 1919, he lived under the guardianship of his eldest son Alfonso. He died in Paris in 1930, he is burried in El Escorial.


Richard23Creuse

  • Guest
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #13 on: October 05, 2005, 10:14:49 AM »
Thankyou very much for your very detailed reply.
Do you know if Anonio's two sons Alfonse and Luis inherited any wealth from their father. I am intrigued as to how Alfonse came to be working for the Ford Motor company after his fathers death.

Also did Eulalia have money in her own right.

Thankyou once again for your response.

Offline isabel

  • Boyar
  • **
  • Posts: 197
    • View Profile
Re: Antonio de Orleans and Eulalia de Borbón, Infantes of Spain
« Reply #14 on: October 06, 2005, 01:23:28 PM »

When Alfonso was 20, he inherited an important amount of money from his grand father de Duc of Montpensier, wich rented him 150.000 Ptas for year.

After his marriage with Beatrice Of Saxe-Coburg, the couple had not  a big fortune, but the mother of Beatrice, Grand Duchess Marie of Russia, helped them.

In 1919, Alfonso and his brother Luis realized that the enormous fortune of his father was almost lost, even if Alfonso became the administrator of his father, he was not able to touch the rest of the family fortune until the death of D. Antonio.

In 1920 Grand Duchess Marie died, and Beatrice inherited a part of her jewels. In 1930 D. Antonio died and Alfonso could finally had the rests of the family fortune.

With the arrival of the Spanish Republic in 1931, all their patrimony was confiscated, they had to etablished in England where Alfonso had to appeal to his friend , the american, Henry Ford, and he began to work in the Ford´s.

They returned to Spain in 1937.

During de II World War, he worked in Scotland designing planes.

His mother Infanta Eulalia died in Irun, in 1958, ruined.

D. Alfonso died in  San Lucar in 1975